“She will be fine. She has episodes.”
“We were talking. She?—”
“She is cared for, master. But her magic, the toll it’s left her with, is a great burden some days.”
I take a measure of his words. “Thank you for staying with her. Keep her safe for me. I’ll return when I’m able.”
“But you are banished. She has cried many a day since.”
“I’ll return when I can.”
I storm out of the room, tendrils of resentment and anger curling around me with every step.
Slamming the door closed behind me, I see Calix. “We need to get to Ever,” I demand.
“Where is she?” Cetus asks.
“She’s with the Maker.”
“The Maker isn’t in The Court. She’s been at the Transference stone for weeks.”
“Let’s go.” I set off back down the corridor towards the nearest exit.
“Wait, what did Celestine say?” Cetus asks.
“I’ll explain to everyone. But let’s just say the Guards have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Wait!” Cetus points to my hands, and I fight not to roll my eyes.
“Fine.” I let him put the cuffs back on, but take the opportunity to push my own strands of magic toward him as he brushes my hands. If what my mother told me is true, there will be some fog or block over the memory of the battle. That would explain his reaction, or lack of, when we mentioned it earlier. I refuse to believe the previous generation would simply allow this to be hidden.
I force myself past that oily feeling that coats my mind as I search, ignoring the tilt of Cetus’s head toward me. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but there are multiple paths, hundreds of strands, as if each one is a separate root of thought. I concentrate harder until I find a cloud or mist lingering. Every sense inmy body tells me there’s something here—that this could be it, although it’s nothing like my father’s mental fortress.
I cast a line of magic and push through, opening a window in the fog. It’s dense, dark, but as soon as I’m through, it starts to dissolve.
“Aten, what are you doing?” Cetus’s words grit out.
“Ten?” Calix questions, too.
I don’t linger and pull back, blinking a few times to reorient myself. But that’s all I need—an opening.
Cetus looks at me, his ice-blue eyes focused, and I know it’s worked.
“Do you see?”
His eyes pinch together. “I remember the battle. But we don’t—” He stills his words, looking between us.
“We’ll have time to lay it all out. We need to get to Ever.”
“The Fifth.” General Aster’s suspicion is thick, but if his memory has been hidden for years, I can’t be mad at him.
“She’s… Elex’s…”
“She’s on our side, Dad. Believe me. Come on.”
When we emerge outside of the Tower, it’s dark. As if we blinked and we lost the rest of the day.
“What in Zuns?”
